James Marsh has built his directing career chronicling true stories and influential people, in such film as Man on Wire, The Theory of Everything, and The Mercy. With his latest, Dance First, his attention is turned to one of our greatest authors, Samuel Beckett, in a biopic starring Gabriel Byrne.
Byrne stars as Samuel Beckett in Dance First, a film that explores the author’s life in various stages. From his childhood, to his early work as a writer, to his friendship with James Joyce, fighting in WWII, his complicated marriage and adultery, winning a Nobel Prize, and much more.
Joining Byrne in the cast are Aidan Gillan, Fionn O’Shea, Maxine Peake, Bronagh Gallagher, and Sandrine Bonnaire.
As seen in the trailer, Marsh and cinematography shoot Beckett’s story in gorgeous black & white, giving it a timeless feel.
SYNOPSIS: Literary genius Samuel Beckett lived a life of many parts: Parisian bon vivant, WWII Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband, recluse. But despite all the adulation that came his way, he was a man acutely aware of his own failings. Titled after Beckett’s famous ethos Dance first, think later, the film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon.
Dance First opens in theaters on August 9th before hitting VOD on August 16th.
